Review Blog

Jan 10 2019

The chaos of now by Erin Lange

Faber and Faber Limited, 2018. ISBN 9780571317479
(Age: Teens+) Recommended. Themes: Cyberbullying. Suicide. Computer
hacking. A group of hackers emerge with a new website that can avoid
the cyber snoop's radar, a place for people to voice their own
opinions for once without getting punished for it. The hackers claim
they want nothing but justice and payback. Payback for the bullies
who drove a student to take their own life. Eli, a hacker himself,
is not sure if he wants to get involved. But knowing he can turn the
cybershop's own system against them is more than tempting enough. But
soon enough justice turns into vengeance and Eli is not sure if he
will be able to keep things under control. This follows Eli, a smart
hacker who isn't too sure of his plans for the future after high
school, and some friends he makes during this story. With secrets of
his own, he gets caught up with a group of hackers who want to seek
'justice' for their friend whom earlier that year committed suicide
as a result of online bullying. Thinking he is smart enough to
handle this situation on his own he agrees, but things slowly spiral
into a mess he just cannot face alone. Secrets pile up and
friendships and relationships suffer because of them.The chaos of now mainly follows the topics of cyberbullying
and the aftermath of suicide, while also touching on teenage love
and high school dramas, as well as family issues relating to single
fatherhood and new partners. This is a very well written and
emotional story that teenagers can relate to, and I would recommend
it to teenage readers and above.
Kayla Raphael